


it's just playing pretend

by FabulousHasi



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Christmas, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, kind of, rasmus has a really sweet grandma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28319325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FabulousHasi/pseuds/FabulousHasi
Summary: You’re laughing.The teammate you’ve been in love with for two years is asking you to pretend to be his boyfriend for Christmas eve and you’re laughing.(To be fair, it's probably a panic reaction on Martin's part)
Relationships: Martin "Wunder" Hansen/Rasmus "Caps" Winther
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35
Collections: DreamServer Secret Santa





	it's just playing pretend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saladhime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saladhime/gifts).



Rasmus‘ heart is beating in his chest like crazy as his finger hovers over the „call“ button.

He is trying to gather his courage, but with every second, he feels less ready to push it. This is such a stupid issue anyway, and he should just try to figure it out on his own, and own up to his mistakes, and pulling Martin into this is so cowardly, and...

And the message that his toplaner sends him in that very second makes Rasmus flinch so hard that he ends up pressing the button completely on accident. He stares at his dialing phone in horror for a second, before accepting his fate and holding it to his ear.

It doesn’t take long for his teammate to pick up – of course it doesn’t, the phone was right in his hand, you dumbass – and Rasmus can hear the slight surprise in his voice as he speaks.

„Was that meme really so funny that you had to call me about it?“ he asks jokingly, and Rasmus‘ heart makes a small jump at hearing his voice again. It’s so dumb – they talked to each other just this morning during scrims, but hearing Martin’s voice now, when he’s talking to only him, makes Rasmus so nervous for some reason.

„What?“ he finally mutters after realizing that he hadn’t even heard Martin’s question.

„The WoW-meme I just sent you. Did you like it?“

„Oh. I haven’t looked at it yet, I... I wanted to call you because of something else anyway.“ Rasmus takes a deep breath and sits up a little straighter in his chair. This conversation is already off to a disaster start and he hasn’t even mentioned the embarrassing part yet.

„Oh no, do I have to be worried?“ Martin asks, and over the speaker Rasmus can’t decipher if he’s joking or actually worrying.

„Well, it’s about Christmas,“ he answers simply.

„About Christmas. Anything more specific? Or did you just want to talk about Christmas in general?“ Martin asks, and this time even Rasmus in his nervousness can tell that he’s joking.

„More specific... well, so, it’s because my dad might have misunderstood something that I said.“

„Okay...?“

Rasmus takes a deep breath, and decides to just try to get through this as quickly as possible.

„Andnowhethinksyou’remyboyfriendandmyfamilywantstomeetyou.“

There is a long pause where Rasmus really wishes that he could just sink into the ground and never return. Finally, Martin speaks.

„ _What?_ “ he utters.

„I...“ Rasmus starts, but pauses again. He tries to sort out his thoughts. „So, for whatever reason my dad thought that you were my boyfriend, and he told my grandma, and they were both so excited that they decided that they need to meet you, and then my dad told me to invite you for Christmas dinner, which was when I realized what happened. The problem is that my grandma is a bit senile – which should be good, because she usually forgets things, but for some reason she didn’t forget this, and keeps asking about you, and I don’t want to have to tell her that it wasn’t right, and i couldn’t really tell me dad either, and... yeah.“

At this moment Rasmus is very glad that this isn’t a video call because he's beet-red by now. He's sure that Martin is going to scream at him, or laugh at him any second now, and really, he would have every right to.

„Listen, I know this is weird, and you can totally say no and I would really understand if you say no and maybe I shouldn’t even ask because it’s weird, and...“ he tries to salvage the situation, but Martin interrupts him.

„Rasmus,“ and he doesn’t sound mad at all. The word sounds so soft when Martin says is like that that it makes Rasmus stop rambling, perplexed.

„Yeah?“

„Are you asking me to spend Christmas eve with your family and pretend to be your boyfriend?“

„...Maybe?“

There is silence on the other end of the line again, and Rasmus freaks out, because this is such a weird request, and he just now realizes what Martin probably thinks he’s asking him to do.

„It’s just for one evening and you won’t have to do anything!“ he quickly tries to explain. „Except maybe hug me sometimes but it’s not like we don’t usually do that, right? And we could pick you up and drive you back home, and it’s really not that far, right, so you wouldn’t...“

„Rasmus, Rasmus, shut up for one second,“ Martin interrupts him again, and now Rasmus realizes why he had been so oddly quiet.

He’s laughing. He’s _laughing._

„I only have one condition,“ he finally says in between two giggles, and Rasmus is too confused by the whole situation to protest.

„Okay...?

„We spend New Year’s with my family.“

Rasmus‘ confusion is increasing tenfold by the second.

„Does... Does your grandma think we’re a couple too?“

„What, no,“ Martin laughed. „Just... I don’t know, for fairness reasons.“

„Oh. Oh yeah, of course, sure!“

There is a small pause, before Rasmus‘ brain catches up with the conversation

„Wait, does that mean you’ll actually do it?“

„Yeah, why not,“ Martin answers, and Rasmus can almost hear him shrugging.

Martin’s heart is beating in his chest like crazy as his hand hovers over the door.

He is trying to gather his courage, but with every second, he feels less ready to knock. It’s so stupid – he was asked to be here after all, Rasmus wants him to be here, but no matter how cool he had managed to play it during the phone call, now he is just standing there, and he can’t bring himself to knock, and...

And the door is pulled open, away from his hand, and there Rasmus is.

He is wearing a blue sweater and a goofy smile, and Martin’s heart is doing summersaults in his chest. _He looks perfect_ , he thinks, before pushing that thought away, startled. He was here to play pretend, he shouldn’t have thoughts like this.

Rasmus just stares up at him with big eyes for a few seconds, not saying anything. The silence lasts so long that Martin starts to become nervous.

„Are you surprised to see me?“

„Well, not really, because you keep your promises usually, but when you said that my parents didn’t need to drive you I was getting a bit worried that you would bail, and... and now I’m rambling again,“ he says, his voice slowly trailing off.

„Oh come on,“ Martin says, trying to seem as calm as possible. „As if I would ever pass an opportunity for free dinner.“

His grin feels wrong on his face, and he’s afraid that Rasmus can see it too, and that he’s going to call him out any second now, but Rasmus just laughs, and shakes his head.

„Come in then.“

Martin steps into the cozy warmth of the house, and Rasmus closes the door behind him. Martin tries his best to suppress his nervousness, as it is really too late to turn around and run away now, and he will have to live through this evening.

„Okay, so we’ll just act like this is the romantic part of me welcoming you,“ Rasmus says, as he hangs Martin’s jacket up on the wall, next to the others.

„Wh- what,“ Martin asks weakly

„Well, if we wait a small while, they’ll assume we’ve done the, you know, kissing stuff, already, so they won’t wonder why we’re not doing it when they’re there,“ Rasmus explains, then looks like he has an idea. He reaches up, standing on his tiptoes, but can’t quite reach past Martin’s eyes.

„Could you...“ he starts to ask.

„What are you doing?“ Martin mumbles, staring at Rasmus, petrified.

„I thought I should ruffle your hair, you know, to make it... realistic.“

„Oh,“ Martin mumbles, and, almost mechanically, leans down. He tries to ignore how close their faces are, now, as Rasmus reaches up again. He can feel the other’s breath on his face now, see the concentrated look in his eyes, as he ruffles Martin’s hair with slow, soft movements. He really, really tries to ignore it, tries to remain professional, and not make the biggest fool out of himself barely two minutes after starting this whole ordeal. _It’s playing pretend_ , he reminds himself. _Nothing more_.

It feels like an eternity, before Rasmus finally deems the job well done, and lets his hands sink again. Martin straightens his back, well aware of how much he’s blushing – but the light must be playing tricks on him, because it looks like Rasmus is blushing as well.

„Alright,“ the other mumbles, and clears his throat. „That should convince them.“

„Good,“ Martin says tonelessly.

Rasmus turns away from him, almost as if trying to hide his face. But then he grabs Martin’s hand and pulls him with him deeper into the house, and Martin almost dies again.

As they enter a small, cozy living room, an old woman looks up from the newspaper she was reading on the couch.

„Gran, this is Martin,“ Rasmus says softly, still holding on to Martin’s hand. The woman looks at Martin with big eyes – eyes that look exactly like Rasmus‘, Martin thinks. From where she’s sitting, she has to crane her neck to look at his face, and she shakes her head.

„Oh Rasmus, you hadn’t mentioned that your boyfriend is this tall!“ she says, exasperatedly.

„Oh, he isn’t...“ Rasmus starts, but catches himself, and bites his tongue. He looks at Martin, and Martin has to grin at the helplessness in his face. „ _...that_ tall,“ he finishes the sentence weakly. His grandmother blinks at him in surprise.

„Well, if you say so, dear. It’s nice to meet you, Martin,“ she nods at him, folding her hands in her lap. He nods back, and tries to let go of Rasmus‘ hand, but the other’s hold on him is unmovable.

„Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Winther,“ Martin says politely.

„You work together with Rasmus, I heard?“

„Yes, we’re on a team together,“ Martin answers diplomatically, because he doesn’t know how much about them being League of Legends pros she knows or understands.

„Oh, how interesting. You see, I also met Rasmus‘ grandfather in the company we both worked at. I hope it’s not impacting your work as much as it did ours back then,“ she says with a wink.

„Gran!“ Rasmus mutters embarrasedly, while Martin quickly answers: „No, of course not, Mrs. Winther.“

„You can call me Gran, dear,“ she says, patting Martin’s forearm, because she can’t reach up to his shoulder. „You’re family now, after all.“

Martin just stands there, stunned, as she slowly turns away from both of them, and picks her newspaper back up. Rasmus pulls at his hand again, and they both walk back into the corridor, where she can’t hear them.

„Sorry, I should have warned you. She’s, uh, quite something.“

„No, it’s okay,“ Martin mutters, though that doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s more than okay, it’s very sweet, and kind, and not something Martin had been prepared for.

„I should see if I can help my parents in the kitchen,“ Rasmus says, pulling Martin out of his thoughts.

„I’ll come with you.“

Martin watches calmly as the snow flakes fall onto the railing next to him. The cold wind is cutting right through the thin fabric of his Christmas sweater and he feels himself starting to shiver.

He should go back inside, he really should, but he can’t.

The Winthers are inside, drinking coffee after their lovely family dinner – lovely, yeah, it truly had been.

Martin sighs, and runs a hand through his hair.

He is such an idiot.

He should never have agreed to this. He should have known from the way seeing Rasmus‘ name plopping up on his screen had made his heart flutter, that it was a terrible idea to say yes.

He should have learned over the two years of wishing to be closer to Rasmus and never daring to try, that a plan like this could end in nothing but heartbreak for him. But he hadn’t.

He had tried to play it cool, as he always does, tried to seem like that phone call wasn’t bothering him, like he wasn’t exploding of excitement and happiness, and like his mind wasn’t running away with the possibilities of this evening, already planning all the different ways he could use this to finally tell Rasmus how he feels.

And now he’s standing here, on the porch of Rasmus‘ house, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. Because of course this game of pretend hasn’t given him the courage he thought it would. Instead, it only gave him a taste of all the things he wants, all the things he so desperately wishes for, and all the things he knows he’ll never have.

He had been better off, he thinks, before this evening, when he hadn’t known exactly what he was missing out on.

Martin hears the sliding door to the porch open, and sighs, lowering his head. Steps approach him, and then Rasmus is standing next to him. They watch the snowflakes fall together for a moment, before Rasmus speaks.

„Are you okay?“ he asks softly, and Martin shrugs.

„Yeah, of course.“

„Are you sure? Because you...“

„I’m sure. Sorry for rushing out like this, I was just... overwhelmed,“ he says, and thinks that that is really just scratching the surface. Rasmus puts a hand on his forearm and the touch burns like fire in the cold air surrounding them.

„Listen, if this is no longer okay for you, we can cancel this, and you can go home, and...“ he pauses, and then sighs. „I’m sorry for dragging you into this.“

„Caps, stop. That is... It’s really not your fault that I’m uncomfortable,“ Martin says, because the last thing he wants is Rasmus feeling bad because Martin is such an idiot.

„Then why...?“ Rasmus starts to ask, but then stops himself. Martin turns his head to him, looking at him for the first time in this conversation, and he looks so worried, and so lost that it breaks Martin’s heart.

Rasmus deserves the truth, he thinks. Even if it terrifies him, after causing this whole disaster, he owes Rasmus the truth.

„Because it’s hard to... pretend something that you wish to be real,“ he mumbles, turning his head away again, because he can’t say this while looking Rasmus in the eyes.

„Martin...“ the other starts, but he cuts him off.

„I know that it’s dumb! And I know that I shouldn’t have agreed, because I should have known that it would be difficult, but...“

And this time Rasmus cuts off Martin’s rambling.

„Martin, shut up for a second,“ he says sharply, and Martin complies, out of surprise more than anything else. „Do you know... No, you don’t know, because I didn’t tell you, but...

The conversation with my dad, where this whole misunderstanding came from... He had asked which one of you G2 boys was my boyfriend again, but I thought he had asked...“ he hesitates for a second, before reaching for Martin’s cheek, and turning him to face him. He looks him straight in the eyes, and there is something so warm in his expression that Martin’s breath hitches.

„I thought he had asked who I _wanted_ to be my boyfriend. And the answer to that question was... well, you.“

Martin’s brain has a bit of trouble catching up with Rasmus‘ words. He hesitates, and then lets out the breath he had been holding onto.

„It was?“ he whispers, and his hand finds Rasmus‘ waist, all on its own.

„It is,“ Rasmus says, and he can’t hold back a smile.

„Really?“

And Rasmus just nods.

„We really are two idiots, huh?“

And Rasmus nods again.

And this time, when Martin leans down, they kiss for real.


End file.
